Site Columns
By CaillanMay 30, 2004 - 12:24 PM
Hello World!
I never used to go to the movies more than a few times each year. Usually just to see the Harry Potter, LOTR, Star Trek releases plus one or two other things that looked like they were worth watching, like Gladiator. But over the last few months, my cinema-going has increased significantly, and now I know why I never went that much before: the majority of films are absolute rubbish. Recently I had to sit through The Girl With A Pearl Earring, which I discovered was a genuine cure for insomnia, and 50 First Dates, which was just bad. My loathing for Adam Sandler movies knows no bounds.
With the recent release of Troy, I had hoped this trend would be reversed. But alas it was not to be. It wasn't that it deviates from The Iliad, for The Iliad itself was just one interpretation of one part of the epic cycle dealing with the Trojan War. It wasn't that it places Mycenae by the sea, or kills off Menelaus half-way through (bye-bye one of The Odyssey's best scenes) or that Brad Pitt has the acting talent of a can of spam. It wasn't that Peter O'Toole looked like a refugee from Phuket in that awful tie-dyed sheet or that Agamemnon is presented with an Attic red-figure pot when the film is set in the Bronze Age. I hated it because it was a lumbering, souless mess.
Most of the actors were just going through the motions, reciting (or in Brian Cox's case, chewing) David Benioff's hackneyed screenplay. James Horner's score was terrible, and parts sounded very much like they came from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Was there anything good to be found amongst the debacle? Only the performances of Peter O'Toole, Sean Bean and the baby who played Astyanax.
Why did I like The Day After Tomorrow then? Because it was so much fun! For two hours I could tune out and watch New York get pummelled by tidal waves, see Los Angeles ripped apart by tornadoes and Ian Holm act the socks off all the other cast members. There was Cheesy Teenage Romance! Super Evil CGI Wolves! Selfless Sacrifice To Save One's Best Friend And/Or Poor Boy Dying Of Cancer! Sure it was cheesy and overblown, but it had plenty of heart.
Score? Roland Emmerich 1, Brad Pitt's Oscar Chances 0.
Trek BBS Today
Below are some of the topics currently being discussed at the Trek BBS:
- Does the federation have political parties?
- Was Enterprise better before season three?
- Discuss the billing of the stars in the TNG films.
More topics can be found at the Trek BBS!
Trek Two Years Ago
These were some of the major news items at the end of May, 2002:
- Auberjonois Sinks His Teeth Into Broadway
Rene Auberjonois, a Tony Award-winner for Coco, returned to the New York stage to play Professor Abronsius in Dance of the Vampires opposite Michael Crawford. - Stewart: 'Nemesis' Not Last TNG Trek
Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard) dismissed rumours that Nemesis would be the last voyage for the TNG crew as "gossip" from the "fan community". "Everything about the ending of this movie has a sense of closure about it, but there is also a huge opportunity for a sequel to this movie just sitting there, should it be taken up." Given the poor box office performance of Nemesis, it is highly unlikely the TNG crew will return to the silver screen. - Five-Minute Enterprise: Two Days And Two Nights
Fans felt the wrath of the anti-Porthos in this parody of the penultimate episode of Enterprise's first season.
More news can be found in the May 2002 archives.
Poll Results
Below are the results of the most recent TrekToday poll:
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Votes)Thanks for voting! Please participate in our summer blockbuster poll:
Happy Birthday!
Today is the 56th birthday of Michael Piller, writer and executive producer of The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager and Star Trek: Insurrection.
It's also the 51st birthday of Colm Meaney, who played Chief Miles Edward O'Brien on The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine.
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